IEP: schl not addressing Soc/BehaviorBy requesting an IEP meeting and videotaping the meltdowns to show them, you’re on the right track. IDEA states that the IEP must address both academic and functional areas of deficit that are affecting his education. At this point, he’s holding it together until he gets home. That will change. Behavior that is happening at home will begin to happen in the classroom, particularly as he gets into noisier and more sensory-bombarding situations. Count on it. A child that is anxious but still wanting to fit in and please the teachers will become more and more withdrawn, which teachers often interpret as “happy” as long as the child is not acting out. That’s not necessarily the case, but it is often the interpretation. Unfortunately, withdrawal also signals loss of self-esteem, which ultimately affects grades negatively, and bingo - there's the affect on his education.
Your son’s sensory issues are already affecting his education – he cannot ride the bus, which is considered a related service under IDEA. He can have supports put in place that allow him to ride the bus – seating close to the driver, headphones and/or IPod, etc. – whatever allows him to handle the bus ride to/from school, regardless of whether the bus is the general education or the special education bus. The fact that you drive him right now indicates that he has issues that are affecting his ability to use the related service; therefore, supports to address them should be put in place.
Make a list of your child’s anxieties – i.e., too noisy at lunchtime, too many people in the hallways or at assemblies, too loud in gym or on the playground. Even if the school is reluctant to put any supports in place to help him right now, make sure these concerns are attached to the IEP as a Parental Attachment – you have that right. That allows you to put those concerns in the record so that when his behavior worsens from increased anxieties down the road, you have created the paper trail you need to point out that you requested those needs be addressed with supports previously and nothing was done.
At present, my son is mainstreamed heading into first grade. His IEP includes the following supports: earplugs kept at the nurse and used for gym and assemblies as he requests, headphones or CD player with earbuds on the bus, seating close to the driver, the ability to leave an assembly and have quiet time at the nurse’s office or in the front office (which is just across from where assemblies are held). We are preparing to meet for his new IEP and go over what will be necessary for him to successfully navigate the cafeteria during lunch and the public restrooms because of the noise levels, and whatever else will be needed to be successful attending full days.
It can be done…be persistent. We've been there with the IEP! It is a huge pain in the butt to force the adnim. and the specialists to modify the IEP. You are the parent, and you are the one who knows your child the best. I would bet that a district autism specialist observing your son in class would see what you are hearing about from him. I have always found that the regular teacher's/principal's observations are based on very limited time spans when they can spare a moment to concentrate on the child that needs their attention the most. We went through several years of non-effective IEP goals before I put my foot down and told them what I needed them to do for my son. It is an issue having a full blown IEP meeting because there are so many people involved who have to be gathered in one place at the same time, but it shouldn't take that many people to approve the modification. Did your district specialist provide you with the handbook of parents rights with the IEP? You have the right to request that it be modified. We finally worked things out with the special ed room (called the "focus" room) and my son can go if he needs a break from the chaos that is everyday life. It is a quiet space with fidgets, sensory chairs/spaces,etc. I hope that the school is willing to provide these types of comforts for your son. His best ally is you, but sometimes you have to be the "B from hell" in order to get what you need. It is too bad that it is like that! Sometimes it takes trial and error before the IEP really works! I'm looking for some insight, suggestions, and support. My 2nd grader is diagnosed with asperger's and sensory integration disorder. Both are fairly mild and he gets by pretty well. He's mainstreamed and has an IEP that address his reading lag & nothing else though he tested eligible for behavior/social skills (he was transferring back to school and they didn't see any behavior/social problems). His reading is coming along beautifully - his teachers are doing a fabulous job. Here's where we're running into problems with the school. He has a lot of anxiety at school & reports being bothered by noise, the lunch line, crowds ("too many people"), and problems with kids at recess. He does a good job of keeping it together at school & rarely has outbursts. Our son has 3-4 meltdowns every week - never at school, always at home. After the outbursts he talks about how awful school is for him. Some days I keep him at home b/c his anxiety level is too high and he tells me that school will be "too hard" to deal with that day. He's missed 12% of school days so far. We've also experienced his anxiety in other social situations like family parties, malls, festivals, etc. So, when I ask his teacher what she sees she tells me he is happy & has friends. He cries 1-2 a week at school, when he can't hold it together. His principal checks in with him and he reports being happy. He's not. He tells us that he doesn't want to tell them the truth because it will upset them (so much for AS kids not having empathy!). He has a very difficult time expressing his emotional state to anyone but us. The school must thinks I'm crazy. Sometimes I feel crazy. I've asked for an IEP meeting. My contact at the school said that because they weren't seeing any problems with behaviors at school that they wouldn't be able to address my issues. The district folks are coming down to explain this to me. My goal for the IEP meeting is to get him a quiet place to go when he needs & more help on the playground. I'm already transporting him to and from school because the bus was too noisy & chaotic & prone to cause problems (he's tactily defensive and buses bounce kids around alot). I would like for him to be able to ride the bus comfortably at some point - maybe next year. I just know that his teacher is going to say these are wants, not needs. She likes to tell me about how other kids have it so much worse. I feel like there is a huge disconect between what the school sees & what our son experiences. I will be videotaping the next few meltdowns to share with the school. Maybe that will help. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you talk to the school? What helps with anxiety? Are there ways for 2nd graders to track their anxiety during the day? Thanks! Hi everyone...... Well, I have an issue that keeps continually coming up with a certain teacher. My daughter is mainstreamed in the general ed classroom, but there is also a special educator in the room to help the kids that have special needs. However, whenever this special educator isn't present, for some reason or another, I'm learning that this teacher, who several of the kids tell me that the teacher picks on three children in this particular class, ONE being my daughter, will tend to "pick" at my daughter to 'push her buttons' and esculate her. Today, for instance, she asked the teacher to go to the restroom, in which she was told NO. She told me later, after she had gotten home, that she "REALLY" needed to go to the restroom. The teacher told her that she would have to "wait" until the special ed teacher returned??....first of all I"m wondering, how you can just "hold on command".........so from there, my daughter was in a panic, and chose to walk out of the room anyways, so now she's getting into trouble upon her return for being insubordinate. The teacher even had one of her peers recite to my daughter, from the dictionary, what the word "insubordinate" meant. The teacher told my daughter that she was acting like a spoiled brat....so then in turn, because my daughter gets furious when she's called names, blurts out an obscenity to the teacher, calling her a "choice word"....(also, let me mention that I don't condone cussing, but the teachers have cussed at her in the school, so it's been a learned response)....then the teacher proceeds to go over the study guide that she had handed back to the students, with the exception of my daughter's. My daugher asked the teacher "where" her study guide was, and the teacher said that she must've lost it. My daugher said that it was in a stack of papers on the teacher's desk, but the teacher told her that what was in the stack of papers, was NONE OF HER BUSINESS. So, from there.....they begin reading, and as my daughter is left to diffuse, in this classroom decides to raise her hand to read from their text book. the teacher tells her, 'she isn't reading, she doesn't EVEN WANT to HEAR HER VOICE right now.".....my daughter got called to the office to have all of this addressed with the VP....when my daughter told the VP what had gotten said to her, and how this teacher wouldn't let her go to the restroom, the VP said that he wouldn't believe a student over a teacher. Now, what do you do with this? I have NO DOUBT in my mind that this teacher treated my daughter like this. One day I had gone back to the classroom to talk to the teacher over a textbook that they were using in class, and we were supposed to have an extra set of books for home, and this particular book, they had switched to, midterm, hadn't made it home for "our" copy....the teacher was walking towards me, raising her voice, and told me that she WOULD NOT SPEAK to me without an administrator present. The look on my face was total shock. She came at me, like she was on the attack. So, I simply backed out of the room, and requested for this teacher to be present at our next IEP meeting, in which, we've had two, since my request, and this teacher has been convieniently absent both of those times. I have kids that will back up what the teacher is saying to my daughter, but if the administration still insists that my daugher is being disrespectful, which her comments ARE, but I feel like she gets provoked. What would I do? Any advice?..I think after this episode, today, she will be in detention until spring break starts...she thinks she had lunch detention, intramural and late afterschool detention for the rest of the week...... I wanted to touch base and let you know how things are going. You're input was so helpful! The IEP meeting went well - especially when becuase the Austism Specialist and OT were present to help explain why my kiddo was having a hard time, but it wasn't showing up at school much. We've decided on a 5-point scale that the OT & Spec Ed teacher will work on with Isaac. We're also starting a daily school to home journal that will record my son's experience of the day and the teacher's observations. If something comes up later in the evening I can share that with her and we can all be in the loop. ASD's are just really hard to understand . . . Thanks again!! Lori,I am sorry this is happening to you. First of all, I would start by calling an IEP meeting now. Describe in detail what you put in this post. Btw, your child's teacher cannot opt out of an IEP, she is legally required to be there. If she does not show, you have a right to request adjournment right then and there. Enough of this, and it should sotp. Also btw, why is she giving you such a hard time, anyway? At the IEP meeting say you want this issue addressed, that your child has a right to go to class and not be treated in this manner. Oh, and before the meeting write a letter detailing these concerns and copy everyone, including the district's Director of Special Ed. I would be very adamant about this and not let up. I would plainly say to the Director that if this teacher requires training to better understand her students' disabilities, than the law says it must be provided. In the meantime, I'd request her moved to another classroom unless they can assure you this behavior will stop. Good luck. It could just be this teacher is a bad apple, and you will find the support you need from the rest of your dd's team. Hope so! Thank You. I just typed a letter, putting my request in writing, so that I'm leaving a paper trail..I never thought about the fact of the teacher not showing up for the IEP meeting, and we could've adjourned right then and there. Geesh, I wish I would've found this forum sooner. As far for moving her to another classroom, it's not possible, because of "where" they have this special ed teacher placed. There's not one for the other science class....(but, perhaps, that would be a good thing to request, because then they would have to nip this in the butt. get another special ed teacher for the other class, or get this teacher a new attitude...lol.....) When My Worries Get Too Big, by Kari Dunn Buron and The Incredible 5-Point Scale, by Kari Dunn Buron and Mitzi Curtis. These are an excellent starting point for helping your child to become aware of levels of emotions and anxiety. I use them when teaching a graduate course on social cognition and when working with my students with asd. They are ideal in helping you develop a "relaxation plan" that your child can practice and eventually use when stressed. |
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